


Cleansing

by FeatherQuilt88



Series: The Amber Dragon Anthology [20]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Family Feels, Fire Lord Zuko, Forgiveness, Gen, Hair Washing, Healing, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Platonic Cuddling, Post-Canon, Soft Zuko (Avatar), Trigger Warning: Arachnophobia, reassurance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-25
Updated: 2019-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:47:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21565168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FeatherQuilt88/pseuds/FeatherQuilt88
Summary: A nightmare leads to a tender moment between Iroh and Zuko.
Relationships: Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Jin/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: The Amber Dragon Anthology [20]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1988473
Comments: 5
Kudos: 121





	Cleansing

**Author's Note:**

> For readers new to my "Amber Dragon" fanfic series--in it, Zuko and Iroh have started calling each other "Dad" and "Son" now. Zuko is married to Jin, and Iroh lives near them in Capital City. My fancharacters Kiwa and Chiko (mentioned briefly) are Zuko and Jin's daughter and Iroh's adoptive daughter, respectively.

The corridor is damp, and darker than Zuko remembers.

_Last time, I didn't have to feel for the walls like this. Why is it suddenly so dark?_

He firebends a small flame in his hand, almost in annoyance. There is only one guttering torch up ahead.

_Why am I even here? What errand am I on, to have come back to this awful place?_

The torch lights a single, miserable cell. Zuko's heart freezes.

_No. NO, not that! Uncle's not there--Uncle's been free for four years now. And I've been calling him "Dad" for at least three of those years!_

His feet carry him forward, unbidden. He whimpers with horror at the sight before him.

Iroh is curled up there, behind the bars, clothed in a tattered smock. He is asleep on the grimy bricks. The hay in the cell is sparser than Zuko remembers, and slimier too--far too decomposed to even make a bed for the old man to lay on. And instead of snoring, Iroh is moaning now, albiet softly.

_Oh Elements. I have to get him out of there! Uncle--Dad--just hang on!_

The torchlight illuminates the back of Iroh's head, as Zuko fumbles for the lock. The young monarch gasps with distress again. His father-figure's hair is even dirtier and more matted than he remembers, from those years ago. The gray tangles seem to grow in size, suddenly, like writhing snakes. Zuko's flesh crawls as he sees a whole, giant beetle-spider emerge from them.

It speaks, in a voice Zuko never thought he would hear again. The voice of Admiral Zhao.

"It's your own fault, you know," the spider clucks, almost smilingly. The voice is just as maliciously pleased as it had been when framed between two prominent sideburns. "You abandoned your uncle to this misery."

"Yessss, Zuko," another voice suddenly joins it. Zuko takes an involuntary step back, as a rat-centipede now slithers out from the matted hair. It bears the hissing voice of his father--his blood-father, Ozai. This voice is less playful than Zhao's, but still seems to hold a bit of vicious enjoyment. "Don't you feel asssshhhhamed?" it crows.

Zuko feels his chest tighten again, not knowing what to do. Should he grab the torch? Wave these horrid creatures away from his uncle's--his adoptive father's!--back?

Iroh groans a bit louder, now, as if in pain. And while he has yet to turn over and show his face, somehow the details of his hair keep growing in Zuko's vision. It's as if the former prince can now see every grease-stain, every smudge of dirt. Those proud silver tendrils are _so_ filthy and uncomfortable, and more bugs are beginning to crawl out of them. Zuko opens his mouth to scream, but there is no sound, no sound....

"Mwwaauuhuh--!!" the young Fire Lord suddenly throws himself forward in his bed. He sees Jin stir beside him, and his heart leaps in relief.

_It was only a bad dream... my family is all here now, see? I'm married to Jin... we have a new baby... and Iroh and Chiko are right down the hall._

Even Zuko's muffled scream had been for the better, in a way. There had indeed been several nights when he had awakened Jin by screaming from old nightmares. But this time, the noise had refused to come out all the way, and the Fire Lady and the tiny crown princess are still blessedly slumbering. Zuko's face softens with love, and he bends over to kiss Jin's shoulder, before slipping out from the covers.

He is thankful it was Jin's turn, tonight, to sleep with baby Kiwa's cradle on her side of the bed. And he is also thankful it is a weekend, when Iroh and Chiko have, as usual, come to spend a night at the palace. Had this been a workday, Zuko would have had to wait an hour or two, before he could stroll down to the Amber Dragon. As it is, he can seek the comfort he needs right now, just by strolling to the next room.

***

"Dad?" Zuko shakes Iroh's shoulder, almost apologetically. He could almost kiss his father-figure's comfortable, silky robes, and the rosy cheeks that show all is well now. He whispers as softly as his scratchy voice can manage, hoping not to wake Chiko. "I'm sorry to get you up so early, but I... I need to wash your hair."

Iroh, still groggy, blinks in confusion. Zuko tells him about his nightmare, in explanation. Iroh is suddenly all concern, shaking his head. "Oh, _Zuko,_" he whispers--careful to keep his own voice down too, lest they disturb Chiko. Iroh's little girl is still dreaming peacefully, just as Zuko's is. "You _know_ that is all in the past. You _know_ you are forgiven!" the older Firebender clasps the younger's cheeks, staring into his eyes with the greatest sincerity.

"I know," Zuko almost chokes up, blinking fiercely to keep the tears down. "But I want to do it anyway. Please?" _Even if there had been no guilt involved, the nightmare-image of someone he loved so much, suffering so badly, would STILL have been enough to upset the young lord._

And so, Iroh smiles, gives in, and lets Zuko tug him by the hand, leading him down the corridor to the palace's old spa-room.

***

The young Fire Lord pulls a semi-hidden lever in the gold lattice of the wall, starting up the fountain. The elderly prince lays his head between the decorative fish, warm water streaming from their carved-stone mouths.

_Bighearted old Iroh hardly ever thinks about his time in prison anymore. But he realizes that Zuko needs this, even more than he does. And besides, he always enjoys being pampered--even when prematurely woken from the sleep he loves so much._ He smiles happily, closing his eyes.

Zuko pushes up his pajama-sleeves, and combs Iroh's silver locks under the water, again and again. They were already quite soft and clean before he started, of course--and have been for years. But somehow, it still eases Zuko's heart--just a little--to imagine the grime and cobwebs from the dream, flowing blessedly out of Iroh's hair and down the drain.

The old man relaxes sweetly, and giggles a bit when Zuko scratches his head. He allows his adoptive son to lift him up and towel his hair, once the ritual is completed.

The drying soon turns into a hug--Zuko wrapping not only the towel, but his arms, around Iroh's shoulders. Iroh returns the hug in an instant. "_It's okay,_ my son. It's okay," he chuckles sympathetically, rubbing the last remnants of the nightmare away with his big, gentle hands.

"I... love you... Dad..." the younger Firebender peeps, his voice muffled in the elder's hair.

"I love you too," Iroh lets him know, his voice as warm and gentle as his hug. He stays nuzzled there in his second child's embrace, rubbing his back again and again. He doesn't let go until Zuko feels ready to face the morning, a strong and confident Fire Lord once more.


End file.
